New book One Fateful Night explores how teens survive high school and tragedy

New author and Westerville resident Wendi Farquharson Finn’s debut book, One Fateful Night, is having a launch party today, February 17, 2012. The book explores the life of Kate Kennedy, a teenager going through high school and a rising hopeful for the Olympics when tragedy changed everything. “The entire book is about Kate attempting to live through a tragic event that causes her to not only lose her family, but also her best friend,” said Finn. “It’s only through new friendships and their continual support that she is able to survive.”

After the accident, Kate starts a new life in another state, nearby Alabama. She also resumes training for a spot on the USA Olympic Gymnastics Team. Gymnastics is something Finn is quite familiar with as she dedicated 18 years of her life to the sport and is an alumnus of Buckeye Gymnastics and a graduate of The University of Illinois Chicago.

It was there that she competed as a member of the Women’s Gymnastics Team from 1992 – 1996. In 1995 she was named All American and in 1996 broke the school’s record by scoring a 9.90 on balance beam. Although she never personally competed on the USA Olympic team, the gymnastics aspect of Kate’s story is an experience many young girls dream of.

Kate never dreams that she would be able to restart her life and make new and lasting friendships.

The book, published by CreateSpace, is available on CreateSpace as a paperback ($11.99) or on Amazon.com as an e-book ($7.99 or free for Prime members). If you would like to participate in the fundraising event today, all you need to do it is purchase the paperback or e-book and forward your purchase confirmation to Wendi@OneFatefulNight.com. Include one the following donor codes in the subject line of the e-mail: UMDF, Westerville Cares, or UIC.

The charities that will receive the donations are: UMDF (The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation), Westerville Cares (Westerville City Schools), and UIC (University of Illinois Chicago Gymnastics). For each book sold on February 17, Ms. Finn will donate $1 to the selected organization. Find out more on her website, www.onefatefulnight.com.